a new year's prayer, 2024 edition

It’s been a crazy year.  Lots and lots of emptying: physical, spiritual, relational, and vocational. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for always meeting me where I am and always leading me where I need to be.  It hasn’t always been fun, but it has always been good.

Here’s my New Year’s Prayer, 2024 edition:

Forgive me, O Lord, for not being all you made me to be.

Forgive me for being about me rather than about you.

Forgive me for being driven by need rather than by love.

Forgive me for trying to be the point rather than making you the point.

Forgive me when I have let my fears and insecurities get the best of me.

Forgive me when I have been a wounder rather than a healer.

Forgive me when I have allowed, mood, whim, and circumstance to determine my life.

Forgive me when I’ve sought the praise of others before I’ve sought you.

Make me more like you, Lord Jesus, in this new year.

Empty me of everything that is not you.

And fill me with your wholeness, your life, and your love.

Fill me with your kindness, your goodness, and your humility.

Make me into the husband, father, grandfather, friend, servant, and man you want me to be.

This is my New Year’s Prayer.

What’s yours?